Cossoul: An octopus of culture

With a legacy of more than 100 years, Cossoul remains at the forefront of cultural innovation.

The Cossoul Society is going through a transitional period. In 2017, their historical location which, for many years, served as a space for innovation and all things art and culture, was sold. Its new home is a quaint three-story building in Príncipe Real. Here, each room has a specific purpose: the ground floor is the concert hall and bar, where visitors are greeted by a grand piano and a wall of photographs immortalizing years of memories; on the second floor, a small gallery displays the work of local artists. This is also where we find, stored in one of the building’s many crevices, the pinnacle of do-it-yourself radio.

Microphone “Voz Online”// GONÇALO BORBINHA

Carlos Cerqueira greets us with a hammer in hand. He has just finished soundproofing the room where the team of “Voz Online” records its many shows and adds content to their music playlists. Everything on the table, from computers to microphones, was repurposed and given a second life. “The project started five years ago”, Teresa Rouxinol, one of the minds behind this online radio, tells us. “Then there was the pandemic and we asked Cossoul if they’d let us bring it here. They give us space to experiment and to evolve”.

During lockdown, the radio was the only functioning activity at Cossoul. “We had to suspend all our events; from concerts to poetry sessions, everything was frozen”, asserts Virginia Barbosa, president and Creative Director, “The pandemic just confirmed what we already knew: the arts suffer from a lack of support”.

With a film festival marking Cossoul’s reopening, it seems that experimentation is still what drives the society. “We have an open-door policy to new ideas”. Future plans include doubling down on events and the inauguration of a charity bookshop.

Written by: Beatriz Valente and Gonçalo Borbinha

Reporters: Beatriz Valente and Gonçalo Borbinha